The Union Forest Church

The Union Forest Church was built in 1920 about eight miles southwest of Jerseyville through a community effort in which Leslie Stamps donated one-half acre of land, local farmers donated and milled the lumber, the Jerseyville Baptist Church donated the pews, and businessmen donated needed money. Over the next 60 years, the non-denominational church was home to Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists, and Pentecostals. As church members moved away or passed away, the congregation dwindled, and the church closed in 1988. In 2010, Gail (Stamps) Rothe and Susan (Stamps) Wynn donated the church to the Historical Society. For the move, the roof and top two feet of the walls had to be removed. That fall, after being rebuilt and furnished with many of its original contents, including the pulpit, prayer rail, attendance board, pews, and bells, the church opened for tours. Nolie Henson was the driving force behind the church's creation, and she and her siblings were among its founding members.

Jerseyville, Illinois · United States